יָפָה yâphâh — properly, to be bright, i.e. (by implication) beautiful
Translated in the KJV as be beautiful, be fair, deck.
a primitive root; properly, to be bright, i.e. (by implication) beautiful.
yâphâh in each stem
Qal (Pa'al)
Perfect (qatal) 2Wayyiqtol 2
How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse! how much better is thy love than wine! and the smell of thine ointments than all spices!
This thy stature is like to a palm tree, and thy breasts to clusters of grapes.
Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and broidered work; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil: and thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper into a kingdom.
Pe'al'al
Perfect (qatal) 1
Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty.
Hitpa'el
Imperfect (yiqtol) 1
And when thou art spoiled, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself with crimson, though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, though thou rentest thy face with painting, in vain shalt thou make thyself fair; thy lovers will despise thee, they will seek thy life.
Pi'el
Imperfect (yiqtol) 1
They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.
What the stems mean
A Hebrew verb is its root letters set into a pattern. The pattern — the binyan — is the grammar's way of saying three things at once: whether the action is simple, intensive or causative, and whether its subject is active, passive or reflexive. That is why one Hebrew word can need six English ones. All seven binyanim, explained ›